"Red," AJ answered and stepped towards the chest that was encrusted with red jewels.  He flipped the lid open before the guys could object.  He was doing this his way.

When the lid flipped open, a reddish, smoky light came pouring out.  The smoke and light quickly filled the room and AJ immediately regretted his choice to take things into his own hands.

"Maybe...I shouldn't have done that?" he asked, though it wasn't as much of a question as it was a statement.

"I told you there was only supposed to be one prize at the end of a level!" Nick panicked, "You've opened the wrong damn chest!"

"How was I supposed to know that?  I don't know if I can handle another blue shape!" AJ cried.

"You?!?" Brian yelled, "You weren't the one that got swallowed by it!"

"Can we stop arguing and try to take care of this situation?" Kevin finally spoke up.

The smoke began to clear from the room, leaving the reddish light from the chest to illuminate the room.  When the Boys' eyes finally adjusted, they saw the smoke had completely cleared, leaving something in its wake.

"What the hell?" Howie muttered, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"It's an elf!" Nick exclaimed.

"I most certainly am not and elf," a little woman protested, "I am a fairy."

None of the guys said a word.  They were all too confused to do anything but study the small woman hovering in front of them.

The woman, or fairy rather, was short and pudgy.  Her pink, frilly ruffled dress fit snugly on her fat little body.  The guys each quietly wondered how she got in and out of that dress without ripping it.  The skirt flowed out slightly, coming down to her ankles.  They could see the little pink shoes that had to have been forced onto her feet.  She didn't hold a wand like the typical fairy godmothers did.  Instead her arms hung loosely by her sides, or gesticulated wildly when she spoke.

None of them could figure out how exactly it was that she was hovering, other than the fact that she was magic and this wasn't real.  No wings were visible from their frontal view of this so-called fairy, but there in the middle of her upper back were tiny pink wings.  That is what, surprisingly, kept this fat little fairy afloat.

Finally Nick spoke up, "So...fairy...what's your role here?"

"Why I fulfill the fairy role, of course," she responded.

"Of course," AJ replied sarcastically.

Kevin glared at the two, "I believe what they are trying to say is, is we're sure you have something for us?  Instructions maybe?"

"But of course," the fairy smiled, "I do have some instructions for you all to follow."

"Wonderful!" Brian breathed out a sigh of relief, "We'd be very appreciative if we could get those instructions and be on our way."

"Not so fast my young man.  There is much here to go over.  I, Pearl, am your fairy.  The five of you have been chosen for a very special mission.  I will dispense your initial instructions here and now.  Once the requirements have been fulfilled, your next instructions will be given."

"Great, can we elaborate here?" AJ impatiently prodded.

"Patience child," the fairy chided.

"AJ have patience?" Nick scoffed.

AJ glared at Nick, but Kevin shot them both a warning glare.  The fairy watched the group quietly bicker and just shook her head.  She knew she had a lot of work ahead of her with these five.  After working out their issues, the five finally turned quietly back to the fairy.

"Are we ready?" she patiently asked, and they silently nodded.

"Good.  As I was saying...I will give you your first instructions now.  I will find you again later, once you have completed this tasks."

Pearl paused here, expecting a comment or question of some sort.  When she received nothing, Pearl continued, "You must follow my instructions precisely, or suffer irrevocable damages..."

"Irrevocable damages?" Nick's eyebrows knit in confusion.

"Bad, bad stuff, buddy," Howie kindly clarified for him.

Nick's jaw then dropped, but the fairy paid no mind.  Instead she carried on, as if the news she'd just delivered meant nothing.

"Beyond these walls, through this door..." Pearl gestured to a small door and the Boys' eyes widened.

"That was so not there a minute ago!" AJ exclaimed, and he was right.  That door had appeared from nowhere.

Pearl cleared her throat and AJ shut up.  She began again, "Through this door, is a mighty forest.  You're mission will be to search this mighty forest for potions."

"Potions?" Nick questioned.

"Must you really interrupt me every three seconds?" Pearl was becoming agitated.

"Sorry," Nick murmured.

"Again, you will search for potions.  Five of them to be exact.  Now, listen carefully, because if you don't..."

They Boys all nodded in understandment and listened intently.

"You must NOT drink these potions," Pearl clearly stated.

"What happens if we do?" AJ asked.

"Have you not been listening to me?" Pearl groaned.

"Irrevocable damages!" Nick hissed.

"You know what, it will be easier this way...put them in your pocket and leave them there."

"What if one of the vials breaks?" Brian asked.

"My, my we have a lot of questions here, don't we?" Pearl sighed.  She took a deep breath and continued, "You must be careful not to break a vial or the potion will be lost and there is no replacement."

"And when we find the potions?" Howie questioned.

"This, my dears, is when your next instructions will be given.  Any more questions?"

"One more!" Kevin spoke up, "What if we need you before we find the potions?"

"Ah yes, I forgot about this one!" Pearl sighed in relief, "You may summon me at any time."  Pearl grinned now, as this was her favorite part, "All you need to summon me is the following words... ‘Pretty pink Pearl, please present your perfect pink plumpness'."

"Yeah, I can't say that," AJ protested.

"Oh, but you must, my dear.  I will not be summoned unless all five of you recite it in unison."

AJ glared, very madly, at the fairy, but he said nothing further.

"Off you go then," Pearl shooed the Boys, "And don't forget to work together!"

With that, Pearl disappeared just as quickly as she'd appeared.  The five were left in the cave illuminated only by the red glow from the chest.

"Let's get to it then," Howie suggested, moving towards the door.

"Someone's a little impatient," AJ groaned.

"Hey, the sooner we find the potions, the sooner we can get ourselves out of here!" Brian countered.

AJ sighed in agreement.  The guys all moved to the small door and AJ yanked it open.  Slowly, all five Boys stepped out of the cave into the bright sun.

"Damn it's bright!" Nick groaned.

"Quit your complaining.  Let's get on with this!" AJ demanded and began walking.

"So...these potions...how do you think we're supposed to find them?" Howie asked as they all walked.

"I guess we just have to keep our eyes peeled.  They can't be that difficult to find," Brian suggested.

"We don't even know what they look like!" Nick groaned.

"I think they look like this," Kevin help up his hand, a small bottle hung down from his hand by a string.

AJ, Brian and Howie hurried over to him, excited that they'd found their first potion.  Nick, however, was a little more hesitant.

"Um, guys, I'm not sure...that seemed a little too easy for a video game," Nick said.

"Dude, we found the first potion.  It's..." AJ began, but his voice quickly trailed off.  His eyes widened in shock.

Howie was the next to notice them, "Umm, guys?"

The other three turned to Howie and AJ, the newly found potion forgotten, and saw what AJ and Howie saw.  Tiny red...people?  That couldn't be, they were too small.

"What...are...those?" Brian whispered.

"Shoot them!" Nick exclaimed, yanking his guns from the holsters on his legs "I think...they're supposed...to protect...the potion," Nick explained as he shot at the tiny red people, "I told you it wouldn't be that easy!"

"This can't be that hard, they're tiny!" AJ decided as he, too, shot at them.  Retaliation was quick and AJ was hit in the middle of the forehead with a tiny red dart, "Ow!  Damn!"

The darts came flying from all directions, poking each of the Boys over and over again.

"Kevin!  Protect the potion!" Brian yelled as he hesitantly pulled out his flame thrower, squeezed his eyes shut, and pulled the trigger.

High pitched squeals surrounded the Boys, forcing them to drop their weapons and plug their ears.  The shooting stopped, the darts ceased and giant flames from Brian's weapon stopped.  And so did the squealing.  Slowly the Boys opened their eyes and dropped their fingers from their ears.

"Holy shit man that was a horrible sound!" AJ groaned, "Nice job with the flame thrower, Church boy."

Brian didn't comment, just stared in disbelief.

"Let's get moving before more of them come!" Kevin ordered.

All five quickly began following the path, keeping their eyes out for another potion and more "bad guys".  AJ led the group, carefully watching the path in front of them.  Kevin and Howie followed close behind, watching to the right and left of the path for anything.  Brian stuck close behind them, still in shock that he'd used his flame thrower to kill the little red people.  Nick was trailing behind everyone else.

"Hey guys!" Nick exclaimed, reaching out in front of him.

"Nick, we don't have time to stop, we need to keep walking!" Kevin said.

"I found another potion!" Nick yelled, trying to grab the potion hanging in front of him.

Everyone else stopped and turned around to face Nick, just as he reached for the potion and it was yanked from his reach.

"Damn!" Nick grunted, "What the hell?"

"Caw!  Caw!"

"Caw?" AJ laughed.

"What?" Howie's eyebrows knit together.

"Didn't you hear that?"

"Caw!  Caw, Caw!"

"What...the fuck...is that?" AJ followed the string the potion was hanging from up to a giant...what was that?  It was way too big to be a bird.

"Whatever it is, it has our potion!" Brian called.  He pulled out his flame thrower again.

"No Brian!  Wait!" they all called.

Brian froze, "What?"

"For someone who was so against using that thing at first, you're awfully fast at pulling it out," Howie said.

"Chill Church Boy.  We don't want to destroy the potion," AJ said.

"How the hell are we supposed to get that potion from that...that thing!" Nick cried.

Brian and Nick kept jumping up to grab the potion, but the giant bird-like creature kept yanking it away, taunting them.

"Maybe that fairy...what was her name?  Pearl?  Maybe she could give us a hint?" AJ suggested.

"Let's summon her then!" Nick yelled, a little too excited.

"Got a thing for the fairy there, do we?" AJ wiggled his eyebrows and burst into laughter.

"I just want the damn potion.  Then I can get the hell out of this game with you people!"

"Can we stop arguing?  AJ that's a good idea, let's see if we can summon her.  We all have to say it at the same time," Kevin reminded them.

"What was it?" AJ asked.

"Pretty pink Pearl, please present your perfect pink plumpness," Howie recited the phrase.

Everyone nodded.

"On the count of three," Kevin said.

"One...two...three, Pretty pink Pearl, please present your perfect pink plumpness," Howie, AJ, Kevin and Brian all said.

"Pretty plump Pearl please pretend your perfect purple...fuck" Nick groaned.

"Come on Nick!  It's not that hard!" AJ scolded him.

Howie repeated the phrase for him slowly, "Pretty pink Pearl..."

"Pretty pink Pearl..." Nick repeated.

"...Please present..."

"...Please present..."

"...Your perfect pink plumpness."

"...Your perfect pink plumpness."

"Got it now?"

Nick slowly nodded, really concentrating.

"Let's try this again.  One...two...three..."

And all five Boys recited the phrase in unison this time.

*Poof*

Pearl appeared in front of the group, waiting patiently.

"Uh, hi?" Nick said.

"Yes, my dear boys, what can I do for you?" Pearl asked.

"You see, we found the first potion..." Kevin began, "We're just having some trouble getting that second one."

Kevin motioned towards the potion that was hanging above their heads.

"My dear boys, you can do this.  Just remember, work together and you can climb to the top," Pearl smiled and with another *Poof* she was gone.

"Damnit!  That was no help!  I had to say that damn phrase twice, and she didn't do shit for us!" AJ complained.

"Just...shut up for a minute Aje," Kevin put his hand up to silence him, thinking quietly, "Work together...climb to the top."

The light in Brian's head flicked on, "I got it!  We need to climb to get up there and get it."

"With what?  The spare ladder I carry around?" AJ replied sarcastically.

Brian ignored him, "Just listen, it's up high, so we have to climb."

AJ looked like he was going to say something, but he held his tongue.

"If we have to work together..." Brian tried to think it through aloud.

"Maybe we have to help each other climb?" Nick questioned.

"We already knew that one!" AJ grumbled at Nick, "We could go all cheerleader and throw someone up there."

"Yeah, let's throw you up there," Kevin groaned at the ridiculous suggestion.

"Fine, what idea do you have?" AJ gave Kevin a dirty look.

"What if we climbed on each other's shoulders?" Kevin suggested.

"So...who's climbing on who?" Brian asked.

"Kevin is the tallest, I think he should be on the bottom," Howie reasoned.

"Hahahahaha!  Kevin is a bottom!" AJ burst into hysterical laughter, which sent Nick into hysterics as well.

"I don't get it..." Brian raised his eyebrows.

"You gay jokes aren't appreciated here AJ.  I'm married!" Kevin announced.

Brian caught on and rolled his eyes and them, "Can we please get back to work here?"

AJ and Nick settled enough to go back to planning.  And then it happened, a Backstreet Boys totem pole.  Howie climbed up Kevin, then Nick, Brian and finally to AJ's shoulders, topping off the totem pole.  He was finally able to easily reach the potions.

"Potions?" Nick asked, "I only saw one."

"Well, there's two up here!" Howie called down.  He tugged at the potions yanking them, and his totem pole, loose.

"Whoa!  Holy shit!  Oh fuck!" came a chorus of gasps and screams as all five Boys went tumbling down, some further than others, to a smashed pile on the dirt path.

"My arm!" yelped Nick.

"My ass!" cried AJ.

"What ass?" Nick grunted, trying to shove the others off of him.

"Pmmmph, emph umph!" Kevin groaned.

"Quit poking me!" AJ yelled.

"Get offa me!" Nick yelled.

Howie carefully climbed off of the pile.  He helped AJ up, then Brian and Nick.

Kevin was left on the ground, gasping for air, "I couldn't breath under there!"

"I guess Kevin doesn't like being a bottom," AJ snickered.

Kevin shot him a warning glare, but he was more interested in Howie, "Did you get them?"

Howie nodded and held up two potions, "Got ‘em...and they're safe."

Everyone hobbled over to Howie to inspect the potions for themselves.

"Guys, I think we should keep moving, it's starting to get dark in here," Howie suggested.

"Give the potions to Kevin, he has the other one.  We should keep them all together..." Brian said.

Howie nodded and walked over to Kevin, handing him the two vials.

"How come you're perfectly fine, and the rest of us got all fucked up?" AJ grumbled.

"He landed on top, though with your bony ass as his cushion I'm surprised he's not all banged up," Kevin laughed, satisfied he'd gotten his joke in.

"Let's just find some daisies and get out of here.  My arm hurts," Nick whined, holding up his mangled arm.  He began walking, his arm hanging oddly at his side.

A few yards ahead Nick found a small patch of daisies and began picking them and they almost immediately disappeared.  Nick's arm returned to normal.

"Hey!  Save some of those for us!" Brian cried.

"Sorry," Nick sighed as the remaining daisies in his hand disappeared.

"Good thing Howie's okay, because there's only three left..." AJ glared at Nick.

AJ, Brian and Kevin each took one of the remaining daisies and were quickly feeling better.

"How's the non-ass?" Nick laughed.  AJ punched him in the shoulder and walked away.

"Hey Aje, we were going this way," Howie pointed in the opposite direction.

"No, we were going this way," AJ insisted.

"No, I'm pretty sure it was this way," Howie insisted harder.

"I saw we go this way," Nick pointed to a third direction.

"Huh, that wasn't here a minute ago.  Wonder where it goes?" Howie pondered.

"Let's find out, I'm with Nick.  New path," AJ agreed.

No one could argue against the new path, so they started walking.  Pretty soon they came to a very tall stone wall.  They followed the path around the wall to an opening and they hesitantly entered.

A small woman moved around a patch of grass just inside the opening, waiting for someone to talk to her.

"Um, hi," Brian said.

"Hello there.  Welcome to Shine Sprite Village.  Please enjoy your stay."

"Um, yeah, thanks, but uh, do you know if there's any potions around here?" Brian prodded.

"My flowers haven't sprouted yet," the woman commented.

"Sorry about your flowers lady, but we're looking for a potion," AJ interrupted.

"Hello there.  Welcome to Shine Sprite Village.  Please enjoy your stay," the woman said again.

"Yeah, you said that already.  Potions?" Brian asked again.

Nick didn't wait to hear her second comment again, he'd already figured out what was going on, "That's all she's going to say.  She's a character in the game with no knowledge, just there to piss you off!"

"So...we need to find someone else?" AJ asked.

Nick nodded and the group moved away from the two-line lady.  They walked down the short path and came to a small house.

"Should we go in?" Kevin directed his question to Nick.

Nick shrugged, "Might find something in there, hard to say."

AJ opened the door to the small house and led the group in.  Inside there were small beds, and a large counter and a man standing behind it.

They walked up to the counter and the man spoke, "Welcome to Shine Sprite Village Inn.  Would you like a bed for the night?"

"No, we're looking for a potion?" Howie said to the man.

"Thank you, come again," the man answered.

AJ banged on the counter in frustration.

"Welcome to Shine Sprite Village in.  Would you like a bed for the night?"

"Oh for fuck's sake!" AJ growled.

"Let's get out of here before AJ kills an innocent character," Brian whispered and they all dragged AJ out.

"Let's try this house!" Nick called.

The other four went over to Nick and they all entered the next house.  There were no beds here, just several circular wooden tables and chairs.  There were a few people wandering in the small space, and yet another counter with a man behind it.

"It's definitely not an inn.  It's got to be something else, maybe something useful," Nick reasoned.  He stepped away from the Boys and went to the counter.

"Hello.  What can I interest you in?" the small man behind the counter asked.  A multitude of weapons then appeared on the shelves behind the counter and Nick's eyes widened.

"Um, guys, over here, he's got all kinds of cool ass shit!" Nick exclaimed.

The Boys rushed over and immediately saw the weapons.

"I want that one!" AJ pointed out a rather large black gun that looked like it did a lot more than shoot bullets, "There's gotta be something better for Church Boy than his flame thrower."

Brian rolled his eyes at AJ.

"I'm not so sure that's a good idea," Howie muttered.

"Doesn't matter, we don't have enough money for it.  I definitely need another gun though," Nick's eyes glazed over as he stared dreamily at the assortment in front of him.

"Nick!  No!  Back away from the counter.  We have a potion to look for!" Kevin demanded.

Reluctantly, Nick moved away from the counter, barely hearing the little man tell them "Thank you, come again."

Nick pouted in the corner, while the rest of the guys talked strategy.  He barely noticed the little girl walking around him.

"What's your line?" he rudely asked the child.

She turned to face him, "Deep in the village, beyond the flower meadow, lays a sleeping woman.  She holds your fate in her hands."

Nick's eyes widened.  He'd actually found the one freakin' person in this whole damn village that was helpful!

"Hey guys!  I found her!"

"Found who?" they all asked in unison.

"The person that can help us!" Nick exclaimed.

"What'd she say?" Kevin questioned.

"Something about a meadow...and sleeping...and a woman!"

"Of course you would remember the sleeping and the woman.  That doesn't exactly help us.  Get her to say it again," Brian said.

"Hey girl!" Nick shouted at the child.

Again she turned towards him, "Deep in the village, beyond the flower meadow, lays a sleeping woman.  She holds your fate in her hands."

"Okay, so we find the meadow," Howie said.

"Duh, captain obvious," AJ rolled his eyes.

Howie shot him a ‘shut the hell up' face, and they all walked out of the little house.  Well, everyone except Nick, who thought he might get another gun on the way out.

"Nickolas Gene Carter!" Kevin's voice boomed through the tiny door.

Nick dropped his head in defeat and left the ‘gun shop'.

Once the Boys were standing together outside, they began to plan their moves.

"We came from that way..." Brian stated as he pointed in one direction, then pointed the other way, "So the meadow has to be that way."

They all nodded and began walking in the opposite direction they'd come from.  Along the way they passed several houses and a few more people, who would undoubtedly give them useless information.

"There's no point talking to them, it's just a waste of time," Nick stated.

"But what if they have more information?" Howie asked.

"Then you talk to them, I'm finding the meadow," Nick said as he continued walking.

Howie shook his head and followed along.  Eventually the group came to a rather large meadow with millions of beautiful flowers.

"This is it!  There's a chick around here somewhere, and she's got our potion," AJ said.

"The little girl said beyond the meadow.  We've still got some walking to do," Kevin replied.

"Besides, I'm not so sure it'll be as easy as finding her and taking the potion," Nick added.

"Why not?  We had to find the kid to tell us where it was.  There's really more to it than that?" AJ asked.

"Video games are never that easy."

The five wandered through the never-ending meadow, some of them crunching through the flowers, and others *cough*Brian*cough* trying to gently push them aside so as not to crush them all.

"Over here!" Kevin's voice rang out across the meadow.  Each of the Boys raised their heads, trying to find him, and then ran in his direction.

As they approached, they each spotted the person lying just outside the meadow on a large boulder.  They walked cautiously towards the sleeping form, prepared for some kind of attack, but no attack came.  Maybe this would be easier than they'd thought.

"So, where's this potion?" Brian asked.

Howie and Kevin gently inspected the body from the feet up.  Her bare feet looked odd, but they continued.  The long dress she wore covered her from ankle to neck.  Her hands were folded together over her chest.  Her short blond hair fanned out around her head.  They gently poked at her, but they found nothing.

"Are we sure we have the right chick?" AJ asked, eyebrows raised.

"How many sleeping women do you think there are around this here meadow?" Brian shot back.

"How the hell am I supposed to know Church Boy?  It's not like I've played this fucking game before!"

"SHUT UP!" Nick yelled, "Stop arguing!  The fairy said we have to work together!"

"Nick is right.  We need to figure this out together," Kevin supported Nick.

"Thank you, Kevin.  That little girl said something about holding our fate in her hands..." Nick thought out loud.

"Good job, Nicky boy!" Howie clapped Nick on the back.

Immediately everyone went to the sleeping woman's hands.

"What if she wakes up!" Brian panicked.

"She didn't wake up when they poked at her, why would she wake up now?" AJ said as he reached for the woman's hands.  He yanked and pulled, and pulled and yanked, but nothing happened.

"What's wrong, weak ass?  Can't get it?" Nick laughed and went in to pull on her hands.  Again, nothing happened.

AJ smiled smugly at him.

"See, I knew we should've talked to one of those people.  Maybe they'd have told us how to do it," Howie grumbled.

"Go ask that one," Nick pointed out a person wandering a few yards to their right.  Everyone's heads snapped to the wandering person and Howie took off running.

"Can you help us?" he asked as he ran up to the child.

The child turned to him, "Her fair lips hold the treasure."

Howie groaned, not completely sure what the child was talking about, but it had to be helpful.  Maybe the others would get it.  So he ran back to the others and relayed the message.

"It's like Sleeping Beauty.  Someone has to kiss her," Kevin understood immediately.

"Sleeping Beauty?  I have so many issues with that..." AJ trailed off.  No one said anything.

"So, who's going to do the honors?" Kevin asked.

"All those who are married are out!" AJ announced immediately, "But I have no problems doing it!"

"What if I want to kiss her?" Nick countered.

"I called it first!" AJ argued.

"But I saw her first!" Nick argued right back.

"I think AJ is right-" Kevin began, but was quickly cut off.

"Of course you would take AJ's side!" Nick pouted, while AJ grinned happily

"I'm not taking anyone's side.  I just think...AJ's supposed to be the leader of this all, right?  So, it would stand to reason, then, that it would have to be him."

AJ grinned wider, very happy that he had won this fight, "Fuck yeah!"

Nick pouted more, mumbling under his breath, "Why the hell was he the damn chosen leader?"

The others shrugged silently, and waited for AJ to kiss her.  AJ, of course, took his sweet little time.  He wanted to drag this moment out as long as he could.

"Fuck, AJ, just kiss her already so we can get this over with!" Nick growled, clearly upset.

AJ flipped Nick off as he leaned in closer and closer.  Finally his lips touched hers, softly pressing them to her cold hard lips.  Well, they were cold and hard...all of a sudden, her hands unfolded and wrapped around him, holding him tightly.

AJ squealed, trying to push away, completely startled, but she held him close.  The potion had fallen to the ground, long forgotten by the now awake woman.  Kevin quickly leaned down to grab it, letting the woman molest AJ a little longer, before he cleared his throat.

The woman abruptly let AJ go.  AJ jumped back, spluttering for air.

"And I was just getting to the fun!" the woman pouted.

"You'll live," AJ growled at her, upset that she had grabbed onto him like that startling him.

"Yeah, so, thanks for the potions!" Brian called to her, motioning for the others to follow him.

AJ hesitated, but saw the look in her eye and knew that if he didn't run, he'd never get out of here.  A little piece of him wanted to stay back and make-out with Sleeping Beauty, but the logical part of him saw the crazy in her eyes and he decided to make a run for it.  The five dashed off through the meadow, hoping she wouldn't follow behind.

"AJ!  Come back!  I wasn't done with you!" she yelled after him, pushing herself up to her feet to chase him down.

That did it.  He knew he needed to get away from her, "Run!" AJ screamed, bypassing the others in his rush to get away.

"Please AJ!  Please come back!" she yelled.

"In here!" Nick called, holding the door open to another little house.

They all ran in and Nick yanked the door closed.  They stood just inside the door, hoping she wouldn't find them in there.

"Hello, welcome to Shine Sprite Village Potions.  How may I help you?" a little woman politely asked.

"We don't need any fucking potions!" AJ snapped at the woman.

"Thank you, come again," she politely replied.

"Wait!  What if she has our last potion?" Howie exclaimed.

Nick's eyes brightened and he went over to the little woman, "Hey lady?"

"Hello, welcome to Shine Sprite Village Potions.  How may I help you?" the little woman asked again.

"Um, what kind of potions do you have?" Nick asked.  Just like the ‘gun shop', a wide array of potions in vials and bottles appeared in front of them.

They each studied the vials, trying to see if they could recognize the potion they needed.

"That one!" Howie exclaimed, pointing to a small vial that was identical to the other four they currently held.

Nick exchanged what little money they had for the potion, "Talk about luck."

"Yeah, now we just have to figure out how to get out of this damn village without getting attacked by psycho Sleeping Beauty," AJ sighed, "Too bad she's crazy, she was really hot."

The others just shook their heads, headed back towards the door.  Nick cracked the door open, peeking his head out to see if he could see the woman.

"No sign.  Just stay close together, and close to the buildings," Nick directed.

"And move fast," AJ added on.

Quickly they all moved out of the house, not bothering to close the door behind them and made a run for it.  They dashed from house to house, hoping to make it out alive.

"I can see it!  I see the opening!" Brian whispered excitedly.

Everyone's faces lit up as they ran for it, sure they would make it out of the village without problem.

"Whew, I can't believe we made it," AJ sighed, "Where do you think she went?"

"Does it really matter?" Brian asked.

AJ shook his head no.

"So...this doesn't look the same as it did when we went in there..." Howie commented on their new surroundings.

"Maybe we should summon Pearl again, ask her what to do now that we found the potions?" Brian suggested.

"Oh no, not that damn pink plump fairy shit again.  Let's figure this out-" AJ was cut off.

"Don't like my summoning spell now, do we?" Pearl asked a little disappointed.

"Fuck!" AJ yelped, "Don't scare me like that!"

"Serves you right for dissing her spell," Nick commented.

"Now, now boys.  No arguing, I don't have the patience," Pearl advised them.

"You have no patience, but we're supposed to," AJ mumbled under his breath.

Pearl heard him, but chose to ignore his comments, "Anyhoo, I see you've found your potions.  They are all intact?"

The Boys nodded and Kevin pulled them all out.

"Good, good.  Just follow this path up through the trees and your next instructions will be there," Pearl instruction, and she was gone.

Kevin tucked the potions back into his pants pocket and they all walked up the path through the trees, finally reaching a wrought-iron gate.

"Umm...I think Pearl left something out?" Nick stated, a little confused.

"Yeah, I think we need a key," AJ rattled the tall gate.

"Oh no no no," a voice rang out from the trees to the right of them.

"Um, tree?  Is that you?" Nick's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

AJ, however, recognized the voice and froze.

"I'm not a tree silly boy!" she said, finally coming into view.

"Oh shit.  Oh shit, shit, shit," Nick whispered.

"Why did you run from me AJ?" she asked a little upset.

"I...uh...had some things to do?" he answered.

"Well I guess I could make those things a little harder to do then, since you didn't want to wait for me," she replied smugly as she held up a long blue ribbon, a key dangling from the end.

"The key!" they each exclaimed.

"Um, can we have that key there...what's your name?" Howie politely asked.

"I'm Tracy...Princess Tracy.  I'm not so sure I want to give you the key though."

"Damnit AJ!" Nick yelled at him.

"I'm sorry!  How the hell was I supposed to know!  She was going crazy on me!"

"Please Princess Tracy, can we please have the key?" Nick pleaded with her.

"Hmmm," she tapped her chin with her finger, "No...but you weren't supposed to get the key anyways..."

"So...what?" Kevin began the questioning.

"I have some instructions for you, but I'm not sure I want to share them since AJ wasn't very nice to me earlier," Tracy pushed her lower lip out in a pout.

Nick, Howie, Brian and Kevin all looked at AJ expectantly.

AJ finally gave in, "Fine.  Princess Tracy, I'm sorry I ran from you.  I was startled."

"It hurt my feelings," she said sadly, "You never run from a girl."

The others laughed at the truth in that comment.

"I'm so very, very sorry Princess Tracy.  What can I do to make it up to you?"

"Nothing," she grinned, completely satisfied, "An apology was all I wanted.  Here's your instructions.  Those potions you found?"

Kevin pulled them back out of his pocket and held them up.

"Each of you must take one, and drink it."

"But Pearl said not to drink it," Brian told her.

"You were not to drink them until now.  Now is the time to drink them."

"Well, what are they going to do?" Nick asked, receiving glares from Kevin, Howie and Brian, "What?  I don't know what these things will do to us?  How do I know she's not trying to trick us?"

"Why would I trick you, my dear Nicky?"

"I'm with Nick.  I'm not drinking this unless I know what it's going to do to me," AJ stood with Nick.

"Well then, I guess you're staying with me for a very long time," Princess Tracy grinned and wiggled her eyebrows.

"Sorry Nicky boy, but I can't hang out here!  I'll drink the potion," AJ quickly replied and grabbed a potion.

Nick groaned and finally gave in as well, grabbing a potion.

"On the count of three," Kevin said.

"What's with all this count of three shit," AJ poked fun at Kevin.

Kevin ignored him, "One..."

They all uncapped their potions.

"...Two..."

They each lifted their potions to their lips.

"...Three."

They each poured the liquid into their mouths and swallowed.

*Bang*

*Pop*

*Crack*

And then everything changed...kind of.  It all looked the same, just a little bigger.

"That didn't do sh..." AJ began, but his voice trailed as he looked at the guys...well he thought it must be the guys...standing around him.

"Umm...Kev..."

"Whoa, awesome!" Nick exclaimed.

Princess Tracy cringed and plugged her ears.

"Oops, sorry," Nick said to her.

"Are we seriously...wolves?" Brian questioned.

"I'm not sure she can hear us," AJ commented.

"Yes we're wolves, and she has to hear us, she cringed when I yelled."

"Um, boys...or should I say wolves, can we stop the barking and howling?" Tracy caught their attention.

"Howling?" Kevin asked.

"Barking?" Howie questioned.

"Ooooh, duh!  We're wolves.  We don't speak human," Nick explained.

"Speak human?  Okay then," AJ asked, "Explain?"

"It's easy!  We're all wolves, so we can all understand each other.  But a person won't be able to.  If Kristen was watching this on the tv back at your house she'd hear our howling and barking like Princess Tracy, and the words would probably scroll on the screen or something..."

"Wolves!  Over here!" Princess Tracy grew impatient and dangled the key in front of them.

The Boys...Wolves...whatever...they all went over to the Princess next to the gate.

"I will now open the gate and you may continue your journey," she smiled and inserted the key into the lock and gently pushed the gate open.  They five wolves walked through the gate, taking a few steps.

"So...which way?  We can go to that bright courtyard...or the dark creepy graveyard."